


Valentine's Day Chocolates

by themaniacjan



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, Also Sokka needs to take a chill pill, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, It's not important to the plot but I want everyone to know that she has a service dog, Toph Beifong has a dog, aka Zuko doesn't know how to talk to girls, also this might be a little ooc, his name is twinkletoes, i don't care i literally wrote this in one sitting, please enjoy anyways
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:07:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22707469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themaniacjan/pseuds/themaniacjan
Summary: Zuko is well aware of the tradition of giving a loved one chocolate for Valentine's day. He is also hoping he can impress his crush with his beautiful homemade chocolates.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 121





	Valentine's Day Chocolates

Zuko stared down at the pile of disappointment in front of him. He had no idea how it turned out this horribly. Homemade chocolates seemed like a good idea a few days ago, but in hindsight, Zuko didn’t know why he thought he would be able to make them look good.

He picked up the most misshapen, a lump that looked more like a turd rather than the heart he was going for. Perhaps making heart shapes would have been easier with almonds in the chocolate instead of pecans. He bit into it. Tasted fine, at least.

Zuko huffed. It was already the morning of Valentine’s Day, he had to leave for school in a few minutes, therefore, it was either the lumps or nothing. 

“Let’s hope for the best, I suppose,” he said aloud to himself. He dumped the chocolates into a white box he had spent the evening before painstakingly gluing pink and red tissue paper hearts on the inside of the lid. Uncle Iroh said it looked nice, Zuko wasn’t so sure.

Zuko huffed once more before grabbing the small box and shoving it in his coat pocket as he walked out the door.

\---

Zuko’s hands were far too sweaty for this. He kept nervously wiping his palms on the inside of his hoodie pockets. He just had to walk up to her locker and hand the box to her, this wasn’t difficult. Zuko had even imitated his uncle’s voice trying to give him a pep talk: “Confidence is the best thing you can wear when talking to a girl!” That’s what Uncle would say, right?

Classes were going to start soon, and if Zuko didn’t give away this box of chocolate, he would melt it with his nervous energy, he was sure. Then they would look even worse! Zuko found himself filled with extra energy, as if the thought of his chocolates becoming even more turd-like was the boost he needed to just do it.

He slammed his locker shut, causing a couple students to jump. With a determined look on his face, he marched down the hallway. On his way there, she made eye contact with him.

Her blue eyes locked on his, a look of surprise on her face. In his peripheral, Zuko saw her brother and that short hippie kid look his way too. He didn’t care, his eyes remained locked on her. He side stepped the large service dog standing next to the group and stood right in front of the girl whose eyes he was still staring into with fierce determination.

“Zuko! Good morning,” she said brightly, trying to hide her concern about his intense look.

“Good morning, Katara.” Oh, jeez, he sounded like a robot. He tried to ignore how fast his heart was beating. He reached into his pocket and produced the box. “This is for you.” He shoved the box into her hands. “Happy Valentine’s Day.” He turned on his heel and strode away, trying to not break into a run.

“What, none for me?” Sokka called behind him. Zuko ignored him, and the loud laughter from Toph.

\---

Zuko sat by himself in the corner of the lunchroom. He usually sat by himself. Sometimes he sat with his sister, but he could only handle that maybe twice a month. Sometimes Aang would invite him to sit with their group, but Zuko found it difficult to sit at the same table as Katara; his palms were always so sweaty around her.

Today was not a day Aang had invited him. He probably thought that Zuko might be hurt from Toph laughing at him that morning. Normally he would be right, but today Zuko was only concerned about Katara. He glared at his tray, feeling upset that giving her the chocolates was such a disaster.

“Can I sit with you?” Zuko’s head snapped up, only to see Katara smiling at him.

“….Yeah, if you want.”

“Thanks!” She placed her tray on the table before sitting down. Zuko’s eyes immediately went to the little white box sitting on it next to her tuna sandwich.

Katara noticed his stare. She watched him for a second before grabbing her sandwich.

“The chocolates are delicious, by the way,” she said after swallowing. Zuko finally looked back to her.

“Really?”

“Yep! I’ve already eaten half of them.” Zuko’s cheeks flushed a bit. “I’m wondering though, why did you give them to me?”

Zuko wiped his hands on his pants nervously. “Uh…well…you know that my family is Japanese, right?”

“Yeah, weren’t you born there?”

“I was. Azula was too, we moved here when she was about a year old.”

“Wow, do you remember it at all?”

“Before we moved? No. But we take vacations there every year. Dad still owns a house there.”

“That’s so cool!” Katara smiled at Zuko encouragingly. “So what does that have to do with chocolate?”

“Well,” Zuko’s voice cracked a bit, “uh, well, on Valentine’s day, it’s a tradition to give chocolates to people. My uncle says that homemade chocolates are better, that’s what he and his wife did when they were dating.”

Katara’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “So, is this supposed to be a romantic thing?”

Zuko’s face went completely red. All he could manage was a curt nod. To his surprise, Katara’s cheeks went pink as well.

“Zuko…that’s very cute,” she said, a big smile on her face. Zuko wiped his hands on his pants again.

Katara sat there watching him for a minute. Zuko began to wonder what she was thinking. Maybe she was trying to find a way to turn him down.

“What are you doing on Friday after school?” Zuko looked up in surprise, only to see Katara looking at him with an excited look.

“Uh…probably just homework.”

“You want to go to the movies with me instead? There’s a new action movie I’ve been wanting to see.”

Zuko felt like his brain was struggling to keep up with what was happening. Was Katara asking him on a date? No, that couldn’t be it.

“You don’t want to go with your friends?”

“Sokka is going to a different movie with Suki, Aang doesn’t like the fight scenes in action movies, and Toph…well, you know. She prefers to watch movies at home where she can ask questions without getting scolded for talking. I was thinking of dragging Sokka along on Saturday but going with you on Friday sounds even better!”

“B-better?”

“So? You wanna go?”

Was this really happening? “I’d love to go with you, Katara.”

“Awesome! Sokka and Suki’s movie is at seven, so we can catch a ride and see the seven-thirty show if you want!”

“Yeah…that sounds great!” Zuko smiled at her.

Still blushing, Katara looked over her shoulder towards her usual table. “You wanna come sit over there with us? We can work out the transportation with Suki over there.”

“O-okay.” Zuko stood, grabbing his tray. Katara led the way to the table of her friends, shoving Sokka to the side to make room.

\---

Zuko stared at the front door, his hand slightly shaking as he hovered it over the doorbell. He needed to just ring the bell, it wasn’t so hard, right? He took a deep breath in and pushed the button, blowing the air out again when he heard the chimes inside. Zuko convinced himself that he was just nervous because Katara had invited him to have dinner with her family before the movie, that was it. The door opened, a tiny old woman staring up at him.

“Hello, can I help you?”

“Uh, hi, my name’s Zuko…I’m here to see Katara?”

“Oh, yes, you’re the young man she’s going to the theater with. Come in, son.” The woman opened the door the rest of the way. Zuko stepped inside.

“Katara,” the woman called out, “there’s a handsome young man here to see you!”

“Ugh, Gran-gran, don’t call him ‘handsome’,” Sokka called out from the living room. Zuko looked over to see Sokka sat on the floor with a video game controller in his hands.

The grandmother returned to Zuko’s side with a pair of slippers in her hand.

“Here, son, it’s a bit cold in this house, but you’ll need to leave your shoes at the door.”

“Yes, of course. Thank you, ma’am.” Zuko gave a reflexive bow as he took the slippers from her. Ah, old habits die hard, however, it didn’t seem as though the old woman minded, given her smile.

After changing out of his shoes into the slippers, Zuko wandered into the living room to see what game Sokka was playing. It was a racing game.

“You wanna play the next round with me, Zuko?

“Sure,” Zuko sat on the floor next to him.

“So…Zu-zu.” Zuko shot Sokka a glare at the use of Azula’s nickname for him. “Don’t give me that look, pretty boy, I wanna say something.”

Zuko suddenly felt nervous. “What is it?”

“Well, as you know, our dad isn’t around very often. He’s military, you know? So I feel like it’s my duty to give you the ‘talk’, right?”

“Hm. If you’re worried about me hurting her, I think you’re worried about the wrong person.”

Sokka laughed. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right. Katara can handle herself. But still, she’s my little sister, and I love her, so just…be nice to her.”

“I will. But I’m not going to be nice to you as I’m kicking your butt at this game,” Zuko laughed as he grabbed the second controller.

After Zuko won a couple rounds, Sokka went back to one player claiming he needed practice. Zuko heard footsteps on the stairs. He turned and looked back out into the hallway. Katara came bounding into the room.

“Hey, Zuko! Sorry it took me so long to get down here; I was drying my hair. Takes forever.” She smiled at him brightly.

“Hey, Katara,” Sokka said, not looking up from the game, “can you text Suki and ask if she’s on her way yet?”

Katara scoffed and rolled her eyes, but still pulled out her phone.

“She texted me a couple minutes ago that she left. Funny how she knew she’d have to text me instead of you,” Katara said in a teasing tone.

“Hey, we’ve been dating for a year now, she knew I’m busy. We’re synced like that.”

Katara looked at Zuko and mouthed “busy” making air quotes with the hand not holding her phone while texting Suki back.

Katara stuck her phone back in her pocket. “Zuko, do you want anything to drink?”

“Oh, yeah, sure. What do you have?”

“Come see!” She gestured for him to follow her.

She led him from the living room into the kitchen. The smell of the cooking meal hit Zuko and he felt his stomach growl.

“Mm, that smells good, Gran-gran!” Katara leaned over her grandmother’s shoulder, sniffing at the pot.

“It’s almost ready. Is Suki here yet?”

“She’s on her way. 

“Good, then you and Mr. Zuko here can set the table.”

“I’m gonna grab him a drink quick.” Katara pulled open the fridge and looked at Zuko. “Whaddya want, Zuko? We have soda, juice, milk…Gran-gran’s wine…” Katara laughed when her grandmother shot her a dirty look. “Okay, you can’t have wine.”

Zuko laughed. “I see root beer, I’ll have one of those, please.”

Katara handed him a can and then motioned to the other door in the kitchen. Zuko followed her through into the dining room.

“Here,” Katara opened the hutch in the corner, “Gran-gran likes to use the good china when we have guests, doesn’t matter who.”

She handed Zuko a stack of plates. He started placing them around the table in the center of the room.

“Katara, there’s six plates here?” Zuko turned to her, extra plate held up for her to see.

“Yeah, go ahead and set it.” Katara was counting out silverware. Zuko saw that she had six spoons already in her hand.

“Is there going to be someone else here?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, there’s your grandmother, you, Sokka, Suki, and me…that’s five, right?”

Katara paused her counting. She turned to Zuko, a slightly sad look on her face.

“We always set a place for my mom. At the foot of the table, please, across from Gran-gran.”

Zuko set the plate down without hesitation. He was certainly not going to argue with missing one’s mother.

Katara handed Zuko the silverware to set out while she grabbed napkins and cups. Zuko made sure to set the silverware as neatly as possible; he wanted to make a good impression.

As Katara finished placing cups, Sokka burst through the door carrying the large pot of food.

“Dinner time! My favorite time of day! You ready for Gran-gran’s cooking, Zu-zu?”

The old woman was next through the door carrying potholders. Suki was right behind with a dish full of what looked like roasted vegetables.

“Zuko, sit here,” Katara motioned to the chair next to her. Zuko felt himself blush but sat down with no hesitation.

Their grandmother served herself first, then Sokka and Katara tried to beat each other to the spoon next. Sokka won, mocking his sister.

“Sorry, Zuko, I’ll try harder to win next time,” Katara said, giving Zuko an intense, determined look. Zuko laughed. He was beginning to look forward to the “next time”.

Dinner with Katara’s family was way more fun than dinner with Zuko’s. Dinner with his whole family was a stiff affair, with only his father and sister talking to each other. Meals with just Uncle Iroh were more relaxed, but still quiet. Here, Sokka and Katara were firing jokes back and forth, Suki was interjecting with her own terrible quips, and their grandmother just chuckled at them.

When dinner was over, Sokka and Suki started to clear the plates. Zuko stood up, ready to help, but Katara grabbed his arm.

“Hang on, Zuko, we set the table, so they clear it.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, we take turns. You wanna go meet Momo?”

“Uh, who’s Momo?”

“Aang’s sugar glider! I’m petsitting this weekend while Aang and his guardian go on a trip.”

“Ah, yeah, okay!”

Katara led Zuko through to the hallway and up the stairs into her bedroom. Momo the sugar glider was in a cage on top of Katara’s dresser.

“Isn’t he cute?” Katara was beaming, she must really love animals.

“Yeah, he is. I’ve seen videos of these guys, but I’ve never seen one in person.” Zuko stuck his finger out to try to pet Momo through the bars.

“I’d offer for you to hold him, but Aang is having me petsit this weekend because poor little Momo is sick.”

“Oh, poor little guy,” Zuko said while pulling his finger back.

“KATARA,” Sokka yelled up the stairs, “stop making out with your boyfriend and let’s GO!”

“WE ARE NOT MAKING OUT,” Katara yelled back. She was blushing and Zuko was sure he was too. They made their way back down the stairs where Sokka and Suki were waiting to leave.

“What do you think you’re doing having a boy in your room, young lady?” Sokka scolded while tapping his foot like an angry parent.

“Oh, like you’re one to lecture me, Mr. Suki-and-I-are-just-studying.”

Suki laughed even though she was blushing, but Sokka turned completely red.

“Tha-you-that’s different!”

“How is it different?”

“I’m the older sibling, that’s how!”

“Sure, Sokka.” Katara slipped her shoes on and put her slippers to the side. Zuko followed her lead.

“Thanks for having us for dinner, Granny!” Suki called out. The grandmother poked her head out of the kitchen door.

“You’re welcome, dear! Have fun at the movies, kids!”

Everyone called out their goodbyes, while Zuko just awkwardly waved goodbye. The grandmother waved back with a smile.

In the car, Suki and Sokka were chatting about the movie they were about to see, while Katara watched out the window, humming slightly to the music on the radio. Her hand sat in the middle of the back seat. Zuko felt his palms get sweaty again. Would it be bad to hold her hand? Zuko put his hand on the seat too, only a couple inches away from Katara’s. His heart was beating so fast, maybe he shouldn’t-

Katara picked up her hand and placed it on top of Zuko’s. It wasn’t quite a hold, but it was enough contact to make Zuko’s heart jump into his throat. Did he see a smile on Katara’s face?

Suki pulled into a spot in the theater’s lot.

“Okay! Katara, what time is your movie again?” Suki asked while throwing the gearshift to ‘park’.

“Seven-thirty. It’s only an hour and forty minutes long, though, so it should be over around the same time yours is.”

“Sounds good to me. You kids can entertain yourselves until then?”

“Yes, ma’am. That smoothie stand is still there, right? We’ll go there.”

Sokka whipped his head around to glare at Katara. “There better be two smoothies.”

“Aw, shucks, I only have enough money for one!” Katara stuck out her lip like she was pouting.

Sokka reached into his pocket and angrily handed her some money. “TWO smoothies.”

While walking up to the building, Zuko leaned in and whispered so Sokka couldn’t hear him. “You know, I can pay for smoothies. You didn’t need to get money from your brother.”

“Aw, sweet! That means I get to keep the money!” Katara whispered back with a smirk on her face. Zuko laughed, he couldn’t argue with that logic.

After getting their tickets and Sokka made sure Zuko and Katara bought two smoothies, Suki dragged him off to their theater, calling back to “have fun” and winked, which only made Sokka more upset.

“Sorry about my brother, he’s a pain sometimes.” Katara shook her head.

“Nah, he’s just protective of you. I understand.”

“Yeah, even if he’s a pain, I still love him.” Katara took a long sip from her smoothie. “What about you and Azula? Are you two close?”

Zuko looked down at his own smoothie, suddenly feeling even more awkward. “No, we never were.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. We have a better relationship now that we don’t live together.”

Katara’s brow furrowed.

“Oh, you didn’t know that? Yeah, Azula lives with our dad, I live with our uncle.”

“Oh…do you mind if I ask why? You don’t have to answer, of course.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m sure you’ve noticed the giant scar on my face right?” Zuko motioned to his eye and Katara nodded. “Yeah, that was my dad. I disrespected him so he decided to teach me a lesson. My uncle was ready to call the cops on him, but I just begged him to let me live with him instead. Of course, he agreed; he’s really nice.”

Zuko looked up to see that Katara looked horrified.

“Your dad…hurt you?”

“Yeah, but that was years ago. We’ve moved past it. But I won’t move back in with him.”

“But Azula still lives with him? Is she safe there?”

“Oh, yeah, Dad would never hurt his little princess. She’s just like him, honestly.”

Katara’s face contorted into a look of rage for a second, before she relaxed and gave Zuko a caring smile.

“Well, I’m glad you’re not living there anymore.” She patted his arm.

Zuko smiled, feeling a bit more relaxed. “Thank you, Katara.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, drinking their two smoothies.

“Well, let’s go grab our seats. I wanna make sure we get good ones!”

Zuko and Katara both agreed that the best seats were close to the back and in the middle. They sat down with their smoothies and popcorn.

“Zuko, look,” Katara said, “The seats here recline!”

“Whoa, that’s cool!” Zuko pressed the button and put his seat back to a comfortable lounging position.

After they were both settled in, Katara started talking excitedly about the movie. Zuko listened intently, interested because of how passionate she seemed. He was listening so closely, that he hadn’t noticed that his hand on their shared armrest was touching hers. He did notice, however, when the lights dimmed and Katara sat back in her seat and then grabbed his hand. He was pretty sure Katara could see his face flush even in the dark.

\---

“That movie was so good! When the dude punched the bad guy while falling down the side of the building?! Iconic!!”

Zuko laughed. He decided he loved how passionate Katara was about the movie. Watching her so fired up about it was adorable. They left the theater and started to make their way back to the lobby to meet up with Sokka and Suki.

“Thank you, Katara.”

“Hm? For what?”

“Inviting me out. I can’t remember the last time I saw a movie with someone other than Uncle or Azula and her friends.”

Katara blushed. “So, you’ve never been on a date to the movies before?”

Zuko tripped on his own shoe. “D-d-date?!”

Katara laughed loudly. “Dude, you gave me homemade chocolates for Valentine’s day, you ate my grandma’s cooking, I held your hand the whole movie, and you’re surprised that we’re on a date?”

“Well, uh, you know, I wasn’t sure if you, you know, uh,” Zuko started to feel very warm.

“You weren’t sure if I liked you?”

“Uh…yeah.”

Katara put her hand on her chin, feigning thoughtfulness. Then, with a smile, she leaned in and gave Zuko a kiss on the cheek.

“I like you.” She smiled at him. Zuko couldn’t help but smile back.

“Cool,” he said. “I mean, I like you too!”

Katara laughed again and bumped their shoulders together. She took his hand again and held it tight.

“Don’t let go, I want to give my brother an aneurysm!” They both laughed.

“Hey, Katara?”

“Yeah?”

“My uncle is making dinner tomorrow. If you’d like…you could come over…I know he won’t mind.”

Katara flashed him a big smile. “I’d love that, Zuko!” They walked into the lobby together, already hearing Sokka yelling about their handholding. “As long as we don’t kill my brother from stress, I’m definitely free.”

Zuko laughed and squeezed her hand. Why was he so nervous to give her chocolates a few days ago?

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this as a Valentine's day gift for my best friend. I hope you enjoyed, you Zutara trash! ;*
> 
> Also, no one comment about how I'm addicted to paragraph breaks, I'm well aware. I just like making people read lists lol


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